1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to navigation equipment and especially to steering mechanisms for ships in the form of lateral thrusters.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Certain vessels, principally house boats and boats with a shallow draft, are designed with hull configurations that are greatly affected by wind and currents in maneuvering. Such vessels are usually built with high cabins and control stations forward of the vessel. The shallowness of the hull designs coupled with the high structures on deck make the vessels extremely vulnerable to the effects of wind and currents and, therefore, difficult to control.
In attempting to control such vessels, it is known to apply lateral thrust by means of a propeller having a transverse axis of rotation. One example of such a lateral thruster is the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,699,138, issued Jan. 11, 1955, to Dyer. The Dyer invention includes a bow steering unit having a lateral thruster propeller. The unit is carried by a vertically moving housing which is disposed in a well extending from the deck of the vessel to the bottom. U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,211, issued Sept. 18, 1973, to Kuntz, shows a controllable pitch tunnel thruster which comprises a tunnel formed transversely of the bow of the ship to be controlled. A propeller is disposed within the tunnel and driven through a ring gear attached about the periphery of the propeller.
No thruster is known which can be conveniently attached to a shallow draft vessel for improving the maneuverability of the vessel without taking up considerable room.